Hanoi's first urban elevated railway is expected to be fully operational next year. The project is a combination of Chinese technology and Vietnamese culture. And it lays a foundation for Vietnam's future railway development. CGTN's Zou Yun has more from Hanoi.

 

The first urban elevated railway in the capital city of Vietnam. The 13.5 –kilometer-long Cat Linh-Ha Dong urban rail route was constructed by the sixth bureau of China Railway Engineering Corporation, costing more than $800 million dollars. The project is perfect mix of bilateral exchanges, with Chinese technologies, standards, and equipments are being fully applied, and Vietnamese cultural elements embraced for design.

 

ZHANG LIANG, CHIEF ENGINEER CAT LINH-HA DONG RAIL PROJECT We chose the color green as the appearance of the carriage, because green is Vietnamese favorite color. We also put the image of a pavilion in the front, which is a culture symbol of Vietnam.

 

Not only are technologies being provided and capital being offered but also a cross-cultural experience. The Chinese company has not only trained staff to meet a high standard of management but has also sent some Vietnamese employees to China to get the first-hand knowledge about train operations.

 

TANG HONG, GENERAL MANAGER CHINA RAILWAY SIXTH GROUP OVERSEAS ENGINEERING CO. We pass on our experience to Vietnamese staff without any reservation. We hope that a large number of local professionals in management and construction can be cultivated through our training. This will help lay the foundation for Vietnam to develop its urban rail system in the future.

 

The railway project began in 2011 and is expected to be fully operational next year. The China Railway Engineering Corporation says the new railway will accommodate an estimated 14 thousand passengers per hour and help ease traffic congestion in the increasingly urbanized city of Hanoi.

 

NGUYEN NGOC DONG VIETNAMESE DEPUTY MINISTER OF TRANSPORT We consider it a very important project, because as you know Hanoi is a very big city with population very high and traffic very heavy. We consider that is one of the effective ways of solving traffic congestion in the capital of Vietnam. It’s also seen as an important symbol between China and Vietnam.

 

ZOU YUN HANOI Traffic congestions like this have been dragging down the development in many Vietnamese cities like Hanoi. Even though that just one elevated railway will not solve all the problem, it will be of great help in easing the pressure, and more importantly, providing a new solution of building the network to solve the problem in the years ahead. Zou Yun, CGTN, reporting from Hanoi, Vietnam.